1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a computer-based system and method for generating labels for application to bottles, boxes, jars and other containers. In particular, it relates to a computer-based system and method for generating print-based and/or auditory-based language-friendly labels.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
For centuries articles of commerce have been labelled to provide a description of the good sold, directions for use, and source of manufacture. At first labeling was performed by simply making physical marks on the actual vessel containing the article of commerce. Later, as knowledge of paper manufacture spread, paper labels were developed upon which writing or print was placed. These labels were applied to the vessel and held affixed by means of glue, nails or other items of affixation.
Labels have always been particularly important in the pharmaceutical art. While it is generally believed that most medicines available prior to the 20th century were relatively non-toxic, many medicines of yesterday were fatally toxic when taken in the wrong dose. For example, in the late 1800's nitroprussic acid, a cyanide-based solution, was not infrequently given to people suffering from menstrual pains, epilepsy and coughs. Numerous deaths were reported in that period owing to inappropriately applied or misunderstood directions on the medicament.
Arguably, however, with the advent of new, stronger and more selective pharmaceutical drugs, labeling has become even more important in the last century. Today a patient may well be exposed to cardioselective drugs such as calcium channel blockers, anti-cancer drugs such as alkylating agents, non-depolarizing neuromuscular blockers such as tubocurarine chloride, and antipsychotic drugs such as amitriptyline, all of which can be lethal if taken in too high of a dose. For example, digoxin, a glycoside derived from the plant Digitalis lanata, is not infrequently given to persons suffering from cardiovascular disease. Numerous deaths have been reported in this century owing to inappropriately applied, misunderstood or unread directions placed on this medicament.
In the pharmaceutical art, pharmacists have been given the duty for assuring that therapeutically sound directions are applied to every prescription. Until the widespread advent of personal computer systems nearly 20 years ago, pharmacists depended solely on their retained knowledge of drug dosages, interactions, and routes of administration. After checking for the therapeutic soundness of a prescription, pharmacists generally typed onto a paper label the name of the patient, the name of the physician, the date, the drug name, the directions for use and the number of refills. Today, most pharmacists enter the same drug information into computer-based systems which automatically generate the label. These computer-based systems are often programmed to detect possible drug interactions, and in many cases possible drug overdoses. Rather than typing out each character of the name, drug, direction etc., however, pharmacists today use a system of code identifiers known as "sig codes," that is, letters and symbols which represent words or word strings. For example, the code "1TAC" might be transformed by programming into "Take one capsule three times a day after meals" on the label.
While much has improved in the detection of errors on pharmaceutical labels, one particular problem still plagues the field--the inability of many consumers to read the label. Commercially available pharmacy computer systems produce labels printed in the predominant language of the country in which the system is found. Many newly arrived literate immigrants are unable to read these labels. Furthermore, such labelling does not aid the illiterate, the blind, or sight-impaired.
In a similar manner, most manufacturers of packaged products label their products using the predominant language of the people in the area in which their product is distributed. Labeling size restrictions often prohibit printing the label in more than one language.
Microchip technology has advanced to the point that chips can now convert human voice signals into digitized datastreams. Such digitalized datastreams can be stored, processed and converted back into a voice simulation by means of a voice simulation microcircuit. A wide variety of voice simulating microcircuits are commercially available such as General Dynamics SPO256A, National Semiconductor MM54104, Texas Instrument TMS5220, Mitsubishi M50800-SP, Signetics MEA-8000, OKI Semi-Conductor Inc. MSM6378 (programmable) etc., and includes microprocessors, such as the AIM-65 marketed by Rockwell International having a electrical programmable read only memory (EPROM), coupled to voice synthesizer chips such the Voltrax Speech PAC with SC-01 voice synthesizer chip by Vodex, etc. Heretofore, such voice simulation microcircuits have not been applied in the labeling art.